Washington’s Clean Energy Fund Awards Non-Profit HopeSource $170,000 in Clean Energy Funding for Low-Income Solar Deployment Program & Announces $3.7 Million More

Via ifiberone.com

ELLENSBURG - It looks like HopeSource is ‘buying’ into the renewable energy effort in Washington State.

On Thursday, Washington’s Department of Commerce announced $3.7 million in grants for [solar energy]( projects across the state. The funds are being funneled through the state’s Low-Income Solar Deployment Program via Washington’s Clean Energy Fund.

These grants will result in 2.8 megawatts (MW) of nameplate generation from [new ]( ]( — enough solar power to serve about 322 average households per year or over 12 million electric vehicle miles. The projects will result in a total $6.1 million reduction in the energy burden of low-income households and nonprofits serving low-income communities over 25 years.

$170,130 of the total funding has been awarded to Ellensburg-based HopeSource. The [grant money]( will be used to install a 101-kilowatt solar array on the new Spurling Court housing complex in Ellensburg. The production benefits will go directly to the residents of Spurling Court and to offset the energy costs of the Spurling Court community center.

HopeSource is Community Action Agency providing a wide range of human services in Central Washington.

“Low-income households pay a disproportionately higher portion of income for energy bills, and often are also in locations more likely to be impacted by the effects of harmful carbon emissions and climate change, such as poor air quality,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “These projects will lower the energy burden of low-income communities while increasing renewable energy generation on the electric grid, both important steps toward achieving energy equity across Washington state.”

The $3.7 million in [energy grants]( will finance a total of nine new solar projects across the state.